During the NFL Honors last week, the 2025 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame was announced. Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe were named as the newest inductees headed to Canton, Ohio. Among the snubs from the 15-player list of finalists were Luke Kuechly and Eli Manning.
However, there is one player who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer: Adam Vinatieri.
There are not many kickers in the Hall of Fame. The first one was Lou Groza, who was inducted in 1974. After that, George Blanda was admitted in 1981 and still holds the record for longest-playing career with 26 seasons in the NFL. Jan Stenerud is considered a legend in Kansas City and Green Bay, officially being enshrined in Canton in 1991. The most recent kicker to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was Morten Andersen in 2017.
Before there was Justin Tucker, Vinatieri was arguably the greatest placekicker in NFL history. After a 24-year career, he finished as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points. In 21 of his 24 seasons in the league, Vinatieri scored at least 100 points, which is an NFL record.
His name is all over the record book. He holds the records for most consecutive field goals made (44), most combined regular season and postseason games played (397), most career field goals made (599), most career field goals tried (715) and most career overtime field goals (11). He is tied with Evan McPherson for most field goals made in a postseason with 14 in 2006. He solely held the record until McPherson tied him in 2022 during a magical Super Bowl run for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Vinatieri had iconic moments throughout his career. His first came in 2001 when he forced overtime and kicked the game-winning field goal in a blizzard to defeat the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Divisional Round. Two games later, Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI, helping the New England Patriots secure the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy and upset the 14-point favorite St. Louis Rams. In Super Bowl XXXVIII, Vinatieri came up clutch again, kicking the game-winner to defeat the Carolina Panthers.
Vinatieri is a three-time Pro Bowler, twice with the Patriots and once with the Indianapolis Colts. He spent 10 years in New England and the remaining 14 years with the Colts. He was also named to the All-Pro First Team each time he was in the Pro Bowl (2002, 2004, 2014).
For his clutch factor and his success with the Patriots, including leading the NFL in scoring in 2004, Vinatieri was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team. The Patriots named him to the All-1990s, All-2000s, 50th Anniversary and All-Dynasty teams.
Vinatieri is in a tier of his own, being the only player to score over 1,000 points for two different franchises.
With the Colts, Vinatieri helped his team win a Divisional Round game in 2007, making all five field goals to beat the Baltimore Ravens.
To top it off, Vinatieri was one of two kickers named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, the other being Stenerud.
A four-time Super Bowl champion, there is not a bigger snub in this year’s Hall of Fame class. If they are going to snub one of the greatest kickers ever, the committee should come out and say that kickers are not eligible anymore or are ineligible to be inducted on the first ballot. Neither true placekicker in the Hall of Fame (Andersen and Stenerud) were inducted on their first ballot. It is absolutely ridiculous.
Kickers are underappreciated, especially by the selection committee. However, if you have Andersen in the Hall of Fame and Vinatieri was picked over him for the 100th Anniversary Team, there should be zero hesitation to include him in the class.
Vinatieri will have a chance to be enshrined in Canton next year, as he automatically advanced to the finalist stage. He could be joined by his successor after leaving New England, Stephen Gostkowski, and Patriots legend Julian Edelman.
While there are other notable snubs in this class, no one comes close to Vinatieri with his accomplishments throughout his lengthy career.